Summer camp for kids!

Natural Stitches is holding a Summer Camp for kids who have finished 2nd grade through 6th grade in June and July. It will run for 4 weeks and have a different topic each week. Camp will be held Monday through Wednesday mornings from 10-11:30am. Each week will cover a different topic.

Week 1 - June 16-18 : Spinning with Carol
Week 2 - June 23-25 : Knitting with Charissa
Week 3 - June 30-July 2 : Weaving with Carol
Week 4 - July 7-9 : Crochet with Charissa

Campers don't have to sign up for all topics. They can take only the ones that interest them or all of them if they wish.

These are beginning workshops to learn the basics of the individual crafts but a child who picks up things quickly can move on at his or her own pace.

Cost for Summer Camp is $45 per week plus a $5 materials charge per week. That's quite a bargain. A total of 4½ hours of instruction for $45!

Please call Natural Stitches at 412-421-4410 or stop into the shop for more information. Sign up deadline for each week is the Friday before that week's camp. All fees must be paid at time of sign up. Places are limited so don’t delay.

Summer of socks and lace:

Compete with Melissa
Sock count as of publication:  1.4 pairs.


When will she run out of steam?  It’s only a matter of time.

Today’s tip sector:  The Cuff

One of the main problems I have with cuffs is that they’re too tight.  I have to alter leg patterns to make the leg shorter because the cuff is too tight to fit at the proper height on my calf.  I hate doing that.  Take, for example, Slippery from Knitty.  Who would want to shorten that cable pattern?  And it needs to be pretty exact to flow from the leg over the ankle to the toe. 

So what are your alternatives here?  Well, what I chose to do was cast-on all the stitches I needed onto one needle several sizes larger than the needles I intended to use.  Then slip the stitches onto your smaller needles.  Join to work in the round.

For you toe-up knitters that have a problem with your bind-off being too tight, have you tried a Russian Bind-Off?  Commonly used for in binding off lace, the Russian Bind-Off has become a staff favorite for well…pretty much everything.

Bonus tip for joining to work in the round:  Knit one more stitch than called for, get your stitches all situated on the needles, then slip the first stitch you cast on onto the same needle as your last cast on stitch (it’s the one with the tails of yarn hanging down).  Knit-two-together and then continue on your way!

Art Yarns – Beaded Silk
Worsted Weight
100% Silk
$36.00 per ball for 100 yards / 50g

How can you not love silk? The feel as it drapes over your hand -- even the smell is luxurious. Adding small beads lets more light play off of the fiber. So when this yarn and its companions first came in, I was immediately infatuated. However, as with all exceptional fibers, the cost was a little off-putting….Until two days ago. When I walked into the store that fateful day, there was no thought in my mind to start a new project. But within the hour I had wound the skeins into balls and had started casting on. I made a scarf in seed stitch, which is my default choice in stitch patterns.

• When winding the yarn, the beads, remarkably, weren’t an issue. I had expected the yarn to hang up or otherwise have tension changes but only heard a pleasant click as they traveled.
• For all the warnings one hears about silk, I was able to cast on and knit without significant problems. Don’t get me wrong, the yarn would split or get caught oddly on the needle on a regular basis (usually one stitch in from the end), but I found the silk to be very communicative. In other words, if there was a problem, I knew immediately. With some yarns, I would only find my errors rows later, if at all, but the Beaded Silk was very obvious and thus easily correctible. I was even comfortable enough to knit as I walked to the library.
• Despite my use of Addi Turbos, there was a strange combination of grabby slickness to the yarn. I would not recommend other needle choices unless you’re very comfortable with a Velcro feel to your knitting. The yarn might stick too much to other types of needles.
• In knitting as well as winding the yarn, my anxiety about the beads was misplaced. I was inches in and finally remembered they were there. The beads are small and smooth enough not to interfere with the way I knit at all.
• My choice of a slate blue with clear beads made a scarf that that’s reminiscent of a night sky full of stars. In fact, there are parts of the fabric in which the beads gathered into what I call constellations!

Borrowing Carla’s ‘yarn by the numbers scale’ Art Yarns Beaded Silk would be (with 10 being heavenly and 1 being “get this stuff away from me!”)

Hand in skein 10
Colors ** 8
Yardage for Money 4
Drape of finished product 10
Hand of finished product 10
Ease of knitting 7

** The shop has only a few of the colors available but after checking on-line there lots of fun to be had. Including one color that may be similar pomegranates… (Must behave!) [Editor's note: We are always happy to special order colors/yarns we don't have in stock!]

The numbers add up to a yarn I would recommend to anyone really looking for a treat.

Yougottaswatchanyway Ipod Cozy
Charissa Clark Howe

I was preparing to swatch for a pair of socks I was starting the other day and I was trying to figure out a way around it.  Swatching feels so pointless (until you screw up the gauge and kick yourself for not swatching).  Then I figured out a way to trick myself.  I turned the swatch into a project!  It took no time at all and now my Ipod has a happy little home that will match my new socks (because we all know the fashion police are looking to make sure your electronic devices match your footwear.)

Materials: A ball of sock yarn of your choice that you have to swatch with anyway
The needles you plan on using for the swatch
A bead or small button
A keyring or clip of some sort (optional)
Gauge: That's what you're doing this to find out!

Pattern stitches:
YO= yarn over; K2tog= Knit to together; Stockinette stitch is knit every round when working in the round.  When working flat, knit a row, purl a row, knit a row, purl a row, etc.; If you're unfamiliar with icord, this is a good project to practice it on.  It is just a swatch, after all.  There's a good picture tutorial on icord at http://www.purlbee.com/i-cord-tutorial/

I recently learned about the wonderful thing that is Judy's Magic Cast On.  If you're unfamiliar with it, it's a great cast on that first debuted in Knitty a while back. It's great for starting toe up socks.  I generally do my socks cuff-down, so that doesn't really do a lot for me.  I do, however, have to swatch in the round for socks (as we all do) and this is a great way to do a swatch in the round.  You can get the directions for the cast on at: http://knitty.com/issuespring06/FEATmagiccaston.html. 

Pouch:
Cast on half the number of stitches that should give you 4” in stockinette stitch.  This number will be contingent on the yarn, needles and pattern (if any) you're using.  Begin working in the round in stockinette stitch.  (Note: if you're working on DPNS, you'll be working with three, one along either side of the pouch and one working needle.  If you're working with two circulars, just carry on and don't worry about this note.  It'll be normal to you.)  Since you aren't doing any increasing or shaping at all, it'll turn into a neat little pouch.  Just keep working in the round like this for however long you need to for your ipod/mp3 player/cell phone/whatever little gadget you're making a home for.

Flap:
Bind off all the stitches on one of your needles and begin working flat on the remaining stitches.  Work flat until the flap is almost as long as you want it.  In the middle of the next row, work a (YO, K2tog), then continue the rest of the row plain.  Work a few more rows and cast off.

Finishing:
If desired, pick up 3 stitches on one of the top corners of the pouch opening and work several inches of icord.  You can fasten a keyring or clip at the end of the icord or sew it down into a loop.  Add a button or bead on the front of the pouch, lined up with the buttonhole of the flap.

From the entire staff of Natural Stitches, we wish you happy knits, creative crochets and splendid spinnings. And, as always, if there's anything we can do to help, just let us know!

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